He said in a statement, “It would be a step in the wrong direction to force currently serving transgender individuals to leave the military solely on the basis of their gender identity rather than medical and readiness standards that should always be at the heart of Department of Defense personnel policy.”

“The Pentagon’s ongoing study on this issue should be completed before any decisions are made with regard to accession. The Senate Armed Services Committee will continue to conduct oversight on this important issue,” he continued.

McCain has made a reputation for himself in D.C. as someone who sometimes verbally opposes the Republican conventional wisdom but almost always falls in line when it comes time to vote. While it’s nice that the chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee is speaking out, don’t expect him to actually do anything.